Hey everyone,

I've been eyeing the Lamy's for awhile now. Can't really decide between the Vista, Safari, or AL Star (for basically identical pens, they're surprisingly difficult to choose between). I'd like to give one a try as my everyday pen. I write a LOT at work (my Libelle goes through one P.R. cartridge every 2 days give or take), so I've decided I want a more economical option (converters and bottles, here I come!!)

The problem I have is choosing a nib size. I know, I know...at Safari and Vista prices I could easily buy one of each or buy nibs and change them out myself at will. I have my heart set on Eternal Brown, and I want ONE pen I can grab no matter what. Unfortunately, my local Lamy dealers (all two of them) don't have any testers/demonstrators, so I'm going in blind.

I need the pen to be ready whenever I pick up it (my Libelle takes a hard shake toward the nib if it's been laying on the desk for more than 2-3 minutes...not good for my use at work or jotting down a quick note in the car, so the Libelle will move to journal duty where a little slow-/non-starting won't bother me as much). I also use very cheap paper at work (it's thirsty, prone to feathering, etc.), and unforunately I can't change this fact. I tend to write somewhat small in cursive, so too broad a nib gets sloppy fast, but I like the line thick enough to enjoy the color of the ink I've chosen. Maybe I'm asking too much of one pen, but what do you all see as the best compromise nib in the Lamy line?

What have you experienced with the Lamy nibs? Again, this will normally be filled with Eternal Brown, but occasional fills with Blue Suede, Red-Black, Copper Burst, Florida Blue, etc. are not out of the question. Here again are my basic needs, in a nutshell:
~always ready
~featherless (or as much as possible) on even cheap paper
~smooth
~always ready, in case I didn't mention it
~thin enough for tight cursive
~wide enough to show true ink colors
~wide enough for a nice, strong signature
~needs to work on a wide range of papers
~did I mention, ALWAYS ready?

I know I may need to play around with inks in my particular pen, and no one else's experience is a guarantee of anything, but what you you all think?

Thanks in advance!!

~~KJ

Medium.

They tend to have a fairly dry writing style in my experience.

Seriously, KJ - the nibs are the price of a large Starbucks coffee ..... having said that, I think you will be happy with the F.

John

Oh, Andy just beat me to it!

I think our combined wisdom says get both.

John

I haven't tried a medium to compare, but I found the fine to be pretty decent- until I dropped it and broke it, that is... I recently purchased what I thought was another fine nib, but turned out to be an XF, which I find to be too scratchy/dry, depending on the ink. However, in my experience, the fine didn't show very much shading, so you may want to try a medium... But like someone else said, the nibs can be pretty cheap if you buy online (where I live they cost closer to $20, unfortunately) and they're easier to swap, so I'd say get both!

Also... I'm not sure if you've already tried Eternal Brown, but sometimes the eternal/bulletproof Noodler's can be a bit hard to start or seem to dry out quickly, especially if you use fine nibs. I haven't tried the EB in my XF Lamy nib, or in the F when I had it, but it's behaving well with my decimo F, so I can't say for sure if this is a problem you might encounter. I just thought I'd mention it, though.

Safari, Charcoal color.

Fine nib OR Medium nib.

'nuff said.

They never skip...they never clog. Always dependable.

Lamy Safari <B> nib.

If you can, have it stubbed.

I use brown inks. Always ready cos its snap cap.
Very reliable writer.
Its inexpensive too.
If the nib is too broad, then buy a replacement nib ...
Feathering as i understand is a paper issue ..

Fine or medium. Your requirements are tough to fit all in one pen. I would go for fine, but that's me. It's possible to get a scratchy or dry one with these inexpensive nibs. If that happens, exchange it.

You really should get several of these pens if you can manage it. I'm a relative latecomer to the Lamy fold, but I'm so impressed with them that at the moment I'm using them exclusively - all my more expensive pens have been put away.

It seems that mileage does vary. People say they're dry writers, and that Lamy nibs come up wider than average. That hasn't been my experience, entirely. None of mine are dry writers. My Fine is a true fine; my Medium is a decidedly wet writer, and does put down quite a broad line. The real surprise (for me) is the 1.1mm italic, which is amazingly smooth for a straight-cut nib, although I find it needs slightly more pressure than usual. I have an MK (just curious) and a 1.5mm italic on order, and may add an Extra Fine later.

If you're determined to have only one, then a Fine would probably meet most, if perhaps not all of your requirements.

If you want a stub get an italic.

1.5i comes up broad. My 1.1i has just arrived but I haven't put it in a pen yet. It should come up medium though.

Andy - mine comes up slightly finer than medium, or at least finer than I expected. Whatever, I love it, and I hope you enjoy using yours.

As luck would have it, my two new Safaris arrived not long after my previous post, and I've been testing them out this morning. The MK nib is nothing special - very easy to write with (which I suppose is the idea), but a trifle bland. The 1.5mm italic is as you say, broad. Too broad for me, at least for normal handwriting; but since it's for my missus (she found the 1.1mm too fine for her taste), and I get to keep the 1.1mm, everybody's happy.

I have the italic in the yellow Safari, and have put Lamy Violet ink in it. For some reason the combination strikes me as being hilarious.

I find the Fine nib on my Lamy Vista is smooth and ready to go even after several days of no use. It is a little on the drier side but still very enjoyable to write with. I would recommend the Fine nib based on your requirements.

I have just fitted the 1.1 italic nib into the Lamy Vista and loaded it up with Lamy Blue.

This writes as close to a medium as I have seen. As you would expect, the line difference is not as great as with the 1.5i nib, but it is still striking.

You can write fast with the 1.1i nib so I would say that it would be a good replacement for a plain medium.

My first FP was a safari (RIP), if I remember right the nib is fairly typical for a European nib the sizes are faily accurate.

There is also the Lamy 2000 and this DOES run wide, but it is a very different nib (platinum covered 14k gold) and super smooth, it is also a piston filler and holds a ton of ink and it is the one pen I have that I KNOW will write on any paper-even the crap police paper that occasionally I have to use at work.It is also very wet. However you could probably buy about 6 or 6 safari/vista for the price of a 2000.

The 1.1 mm italic by Lamy is the best compromise between every-day versatility, line variation, smoothness and price.
You can put it on any steel nibbed Lamy, and enjoy the colour of an ink and its shading with stylish writing appearance.

Thank you for all the replies, everyone!

Unfortunately, I was unable to post this weekend, but I did pick up a Safari F after work on Friday (payday, don't ya know...). My local store doesn't carry Noodler's, so I picked up a bottle of Havana Brown. I don't think I'm going to change a thing. The Lamy is the slightest bit scratchy, but still fairly wet on most papers (if that makes sense). Not at all unpleasant, in fact, I sort of like the sound and feel of the nib on my most commonly used papers.

I'm glad I didn't go for the medium, as it is this F seems about halfway between the Mediums and Fines I've used in the past. Cheap note pads, post-its, high-quality stationery and card stock, journal paper, this combo handles it all very well. On cheap, thirsty paper I do notice it's almost too broad for my cursive, but the only things I use like this are little 3x5" spirals that I keep in my pockets, and those notes are only for me, so I'm not too worried about clarity.

I love the color, line width, feel of the Havana out of this pen, so I think I'll just leave it as is. Given the fact that I would like a signature pen to stand out -AND- have permanent ink, I think I'll go back for the pen show next week and get a Med- or Broad-nib Vista and load it with Eternal Brown. That can be my signature pen, and I'll have the Havana/Safarari F for everything else. :-D

Thanks again for everyone's advice, I really appreciate it.